LAKE STEVENSBy John WolcottWhen long-awaited turn lanes on SR 92 are finished in late August, Holy Cross parishioners will have easier and safer access to the church property — and the parish can move ahead with expansion efforts.

“We’ve been planning, getting permits and raising funds for the project for two years,” said Father Jay DeFolco, pastor of Holy Cross, noting the project is costing the parish about $560,000. “We have 400 families here and the parish is growing, but the three-month project to install turn lanes and street lights was required before we could add even one more square foot of building space on the site.”When Holy Cross became a parish in 2004, the vision was to expand as needed without involving major debt, Father DeFolco said. “In 2014, we will be adding new portable buildings as meeting places for children and youth programs,” he said. “In four years, we expect to enter into our next major building project, creating a larger church to seat up to 700 people and a parish hall for 400 people.”The parish vision also includes a school “someday in the future,” Father DeFolco said, “but we’re taking one step at a time, growing steadily, reflecting the dreams of the people who built the original Holy Cross in Granite Falls in 1903.”Once a small mission served by St. Michael Parish in Snohomish, the growth of the Holy Cross community led to the purchase of the 32-acre site on Highway 92 in 1998. When the church began services at the new site in 2004, it drew Catholics from Granite Falls, Lake Stevens and Marysville.Today, the parish has five weekend Masses, including one in Spanish and a Sunday evening Mass for youth and families, Father DeFolco said. “We have a long and proud history and a dream that leads many years into the future,” Father DeFolco said. “Each year we take another step on the journey that is before us. The Holy Spirit is our guide.”

August 16, 2013